The Ataris
““End is Forever””
(Kung Fu Records)
These songs, as well as many past Ataris’ songs, seem to tell the story of Kris Roe’s life. A life that has a recurring theme of the misadventures of love, relationships and girls that only date assholes. According to Kris Roe, “I was going through a really dark period in my life…. I just wrote this record as kind of my therapy”. The first song on the album, “Giving Up On Love” is a sure sign of that. There is a humorous mention of a Billy Idol concert in the song. The album has 13 tracks that are more mature and definitely more produced, almost to a fault, than previous Ataris’ albums. But the true Ataris sound comes through on “up, up, down, down, left, left, right, b, a, start” a song about just being young and that everything in life is going to be OK’. There are some keyboards at the end of the song that bring the whole tune to a good close. “Teenage Riot” is another great tune that is reminiscent of British Old school and is dedicated to the Denton, Texas Police Department. “End is Forever” closes with an acoustical bit called “Hello and Goodbye”. This could be a dedication to Kris’s new wife Denise, or his ex for that matter. Whatever the case, it is a mellow song that any punk rock kid can dedicate to his punk rock girl.
